Ken Campbell, Author at The Last Wilderness

Fire update

Posted by Ken Campbell August 12, 2009 0 Comment 1007 views

Of the 12 fires that began last month inside the wilderness areas of Olympic National Park, only one remains a concern. The Constance fire has consumed about 350 acres at last report and is apparently still growing, despite cooler weather and some precipitation. Trail closures include the main Dosewallips trail from the park boundary to […]

The MRSA Chronicles

Posted by Ken Campbell August 11, 2009 1 Comment 969 views

Back home once again after an excellent family vacation… Glacier National Park was just one of the highlights, paddleboarding on Lake MacDonald with the boy hanging on at the nose of the board. It’s a good life. I enjoyed Montana, other than the apocolyptic rants of Christo-fascist talk radio and the fact that I got […]

A Fecal matter

Posted by Ken Campbell August 9, 2009 0 Comment 1155 views

Item for discussion: Backcountry pack and saddle trips. Horses have a history in the backcountry. From the earliest days of the American era, tales of rugged men, horses and the great outdoors have been blended together to become the stuff of legend. Going into the mountains on horse back has been a tradition since forever, […]

Over and out

Posted by Ken Campbell August 5, 2009 0 Comment 1075 views

Up before dawn once again, that blessed twilight time before the bugs have found their wings. I figured I had until dawn, at the latest, before the huns could get their squadrons in the air and I intended to cover some miles before then. The heat would rise with the dawn as well, making this […]

Up the Elwha

Posted by Ken Campbell August 4, 2009 1 Comment 1416 views

From the time I first arrived in Washington to stay, back in the misty memory of the mid 1980’s, I have been drawn to the Olympic Peninsula. The way it sits there, close – but not too close, attached – but distinctly different… its tantalizing and unique solitude appealed to me instantly. There used to […]

Intermission

Posted by Ken Campbell August 2, 2009 1 Comment 997 views

Olympics was great… up the Elwha, out the Quinault. Then on to Crescent Beach to beat the heat and get some SUP surfing in. Home now (for about 16 hours), then on to Montana in the morning. Much to do, can’t talk now. Here are some random photos… stories to follow.

Way, way out of the office

Posted by Ken Campbell July 25, 2009 0 Comment 899 views

Incommunicado again. I leave this evening for Port Angeles and the Whiskey Bend trailhead, then begin hiking tomorrow. I’m planning on retracing (more or less), the route taken by the Press Party on that first Olympic crossing almost 120 years ago. I’ll be taking approximately one ton less supplies with me – no bacon, flour, […]

A T-town salute

Posted by Ken Campbell July 24, 2009 0 Comment 1009 views

If you ever write anything down in the outdoors, whether it’s on a glacier somewhere, on a windy beach or at a high school football game, you probably already know about Rite-in-the-Rain products. Made right here in Tacoma (the City of Destiny, y’know). It isn’t often that I find myself in the backcountry without one […]

My left foot

Posted by Ken Campbell July 24, 2009 0 Comment 1006 views

Last winter I stepped on a nail. That puncture still gives me some pain. I had the doctor look at it a month ago and he said I should maybe think of seeing a podiatrist. On July 4th, I gouged out a 2-inch chunk of the arch on a barnacle. (That scar is still visible […]

SUP Social – July edition

Posted by Ken Campbell July 22, 2009 0 Comment 972 views

A Public Service Announcement There is a Standup Paddleboard Social this evening, July 22nd, at Owen Beach in Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park, from 6pm-8pm. Demo paddleboards will be available to try out and area paddlers will be on hand to help explain the basics of this exciting new sport. The event is hosted by Backpackers […]